Bounded out of bed this morning, free of commitments and responsibilities - lol. Don't you just love holidays? Oui, oui, oui!
Fortunately the temperature was noticeably lower this morning, which was a nice change. We had a really great breakfast at a cafe in Aix's old-town right beside a fountain. Was particularly good in that we received freshly-squeezed orange juice and coffee with milk in addition to the pain/confiture and croissant. It is obviously a cultural difference in Europe, but they generally don't add milk to coffee - you have to ask for it, and usually pay more for it too. Sometimes it's called cafe creme.
Set off nice and early to have a look at Aix-en-Provence's famed street markets (via a quick visit to the tourist office to find out where the markets were). Once located, we discovered food stalls, clothing stalls, jewellery stalls, soap/lavender/pot-pourri stalls, dogs, babies, children, madness, mayhem. Just too many bloody people!
To escape the hectic city-life and contribute less to the temporary summer-time population problem, we climbed the hill just outside of town to visit the much quieter and reflective space that is Paul Cezanne's Studio. Although essentially just a one-room studio, this was a remarkable experience as everything in the studio has been left just as it was when Cezanne died. We were able to see the exact objects used by the artist in his still-life paintings - nothing was roped off either. Photographs were prohibited inside the room, but your scout journalist managed to snap one inside the studio (today's featured pic) without being escorted from the premises or arrested. Cezanne purchased the cottage in 1901 and it is surrounded by a tranquil (if slightly overgrown) cottage garden. Not a museum as such, more of an experience.
We then headed back into the city to have a detailed look at the most famous street in Aix-en-Provence, Cours Mirabeau. A street created for horse-drawn coaches in 1649, Cours Mirabeau is today lined with plane trees, fountains, cafes and elegant mansions from the 17th and 18th centuries. We had a map from the tourist office which detailed information relating to the Cours, including Le Passage Agard which was part of the former Carmelite convent linking the Law Courts to the Mirabeau - Cezanne often frequented the Deux Garcons cafe here with his friends.
After lunch, we headed off to look at some of the shops lining the streets. Popped into several souvenir shops (some good, some awful) and spent a fair bit of time in the department stores looking at more of the incredible sales. Rod bought more things at H&M - his bargain of the day was four pairs of socks for 1 euro - that's $1.50 people - incredible! And he bought some t-shirts on sale too.
Took it easy this afternoon, drank lots of water and cans of soft drink - they are both quite cheap. Brings to mind another item of interest - the complete domination of Coca-Cola in the French soft-drink department. Pepsi seems to have made very little market penetration, particularly down south. We thought the competition would have been fierce, but alas, no.
Had a little stroll through the streets tonight. Most of the shops have closed up now until Monday. Sunday is very quiet here in France. We intend having a look at the Mazarin Quarter tomorrow, as well as taking in some more of the old town sights.
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